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SM Energy Shares Plunged: What You Need to Know

Is this meaningful or just another movement?

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of independent energy company SM Energy(NYSE: SM) fell as much as 11% today after the company released earnings.

So what: Revenue exploded higher to $530.6 million, but adjusted earnings per share of $0.63 fell $0.05 short of estimates on lower-than-expected production. It didn't help that oil fell sharply in early trading.

Now what: Considering the jump in production, I'm not overly concerned about the quarter. As production ramps up, the numbers can be choppy and missing analysts' estimates isn't the end of the world. I like SM's growth path and think that if oil & gas prices recover, the stock could be a really nice value.

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